Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett shows an independence from majority view in recent opinions

WASHINGTON (AP) — During her Senate confirmation hearings, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett uttered a memorable line to describe her approach to cases: “It’s not the law of Amy.”

Barrett cemented the Court’s conservative supermajority four years ago and has since voted in favor of overturning the nationwide right to abortion, striking down affirmative action in college admissions and expanding gun rights. Still, during the most recent term that included sweeping blows to federal regulation and key wins for former President Donald Trump, her opinions reflected a willingness at times to step away from the conservative majority.

Barrett wrote sharp dissents in a case connected with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and another on regulation of downwind air pollution. Appointed by Trump, she differed on some points of the former president’s historic immunity ruling and critiqued parts of the majority decision keeping him on the ballot.

“While she is very firmly rooted in the conservative bloc, she doesn’t necessarily move in lockstep with the rest of the court’s conservatives. There are these surprising glimmers of independence,” said Melissa Murray, law professor at New York University.

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